The State of Us & Our Things

[Old Thunder]

my local library

The only place to be.

 

[D'Snowth]

Well, Viacom are a bunch of salty old guys that are probably bald and wear suits.

Universal.... I've got a love hate relationship with them.

I've also gotten nukes from Disney (for posting Grover's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, and for trying to post clips from the lsolar eclipse episode of RECESS for the solar eclipse we had last summer), Fox (for posting M*A*S*H clips), Bagdasarian (for repitching a Chipmunk song), but the strangest one of all was from ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company, not American Broadcasting Company) claiming they were "The REAL Sesame Street." No, really.

 

[jvcarroll]

Thanks for the advice. Sometimes I go to my local library just to chill and get out of the house. Lately with the snow though, it's the only place i've been able to go.

I didn't even think about the snow. I love the snow, but that's because I've only lived through three years in snowy places. I'm snow deprived. SEND ME ALL YOUR SNOW, PEOPLE!!!

Up until late 2013/early 2014, I was a very cynical and jaded person, and it was not uncommon for fellow MCers to always call me out on being so negative and pessimistic. My argument would always be that I'm not negative or pessimistic, I'm just realistic (and that everybody else was cockeyed and naive). A lot of this stemmed from growing up with a very, very dysfunctional childhood, between moving so many times (sometimes two or three times in the same year), and having parents worthy of being characters in a sitcom, and living through so much disappointment, it really shaped the kind of person I had grown into: yes, I was cynical, and yes I was jaded, but life had made me that way. My personal philosphy was that it's better to expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised and/or proven wrong, than to expect the best and be disappointed. This was all I knew, and honestly, I never really thought any differently, because I didn't know how, this just came naturally to me.

But since late 2013/early 2014, I've finally had some more stability in my life, and things have slowly, but greatly improved for not only myself, but my family as well. And it was around this time that I finally was able to learn that one of the reasons I was always such a negative person was because I would either dwell on the past too much, or worry about the future too much . . . I was never in the now, but I had finally learned to do just that: live for now, stay in the present, and take life one day at a time. And since then, I've been a much happier, more cheerful, and more positive person for it, and it's amazing how so much better I've felt about life and myself because of it.

But for a year now, I've dropped right back to where I was before, and after having spent a number of years feeling so much more cheerful and optimistic, I now realize how miserable it feels to be cynical, jaded, and pessimistic . . . and I really don't want to be in this frame of mind again. I'm always angry, I'm always frustrated, I'm always annoyed, it's like I get up every morning and dread what I'm going to learn about what kind of crap is happening in the world, because it's always something everyday anymore: a shooting, a massacre, a riot, something.

Like I said, I never realized how miserable a person I actually was until I managed to rise above that phase and become a more positive person, and now that I realize how miserable it feels be a pessimist, I just hate it. I hate feeling like this, but with so much going on right now, I don't know what to do to try to maintain the positive vibes I had been experiencing in recent years. Like Jamie has said time and again, what's happening around us is something we can't just turn a blind eye to in hopes that if we ignore, it'll all go away . . . but I certainly wish it could all go away with the push of a button, or the flip of a switch - because that's how it's felt like since I've fallen back into cynicism and pessimism.

You've just hit the nail on the head. Like attracts like. Sure, life sucks and will continue to suck and sucky things, of varying degrees, will happen to all of us until the day we die. But operating from that place only serves to make us miserable. There's a difference between allowing one's self to be depressed for a period of time while processing a negative situation and choosing to wallow in it beyond that. The wallowers are missing the good stuff because they're focused on the bad stuff, and there's loads of good stuff.

My customers at work love me. That's because, no matter how my day is going, I compartmentalize, find something authentic to be cheerful about, and help make their experience better. Many of these folk are old and go to the movies alone. My coworkers RUN from these people, but I'll allow them to talk my ear off about the film they just saw or complain about the uncomfortable springs in their theater seat. They tell me about old San Francisco and how the city has changed. Sometimes people are grumpy and throw that at me because I'm there. At those times, I try to figure out what they want because they're not usually upset with me. They're upset with a problem that they cannot solve. I then help them, make a note of their complaint to tell the management or just simply agree with them and commiserate. I've spent thousands of hours working retail in my life and only had about 5 angry customers. Out of those, only a couple were unreachable. That happens. The truth is that most people want to be happy. Some don't know how because everyone's happiness is different. Offering someone a little understanding, particularly on a day that I feel bad or misunderstood, makes me happy. Sure, it's a somewhat selfish component, but it usually helps everybody and makes the day a little bit better. On my bitter days, I try to be a teeny tiny ray of sunshine in the lives of others just by doing everyday things, but with more mindfulness.

 

[Old Thunder]

Some good advice: "treat others as you would like to be treated." The golden rule.

I find often that it's best to start off small and quiet before rising up, whether in school, relationships, or what have you. I became friends with people by just chatting with them calmly and stuff like that. Once I do get to know them though, my sarcastic, joke side comes out and I say all that stupid stuff. But hey.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Snowth mentioning he once couldn't learn to let the past go literally reminds me of my former Landmark college friend James that I stopped talking to last December in a nutshell. Losing him as a friend was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life.

 

[D'Snowth]

I find losing a friend feels pretty bad, especially over misunderstandings.

I never was able to get through to Ryan (Prawnie) to explain a stupid comment I made on Facebook years ago, I think he's blocked me on everything . . . and we used to be such great friends, I can't believe he won't even give me a chance to explain my stupidity.

Then again, he almost seems as if he's just cut off all ties with his Muppet fandom past now that he's actually working for them.

 

[LittleJerry92]

This is what I like to think.

If they aren't willing to listen to your side of issues, they were never a good friend to begin with.

 

[LittleJerry92]

In fairness though, it was stressful for a bit because him and I were friends for 5 years, but he just started to change because he can't learn to let go of the past.

 

[Froggy Fool]

I didn't even think about the snow. I love the snow, but that's because I've only lived through three years in snowy places. I'm snow deprived. SEND ME ALL YOUR SNOW, PEOPLE!!!

SEND ME SNOW AS WELL!! ALTHOUGH IT'S IN THE 70'S SEND ME YOUR SNOW!!!! ME WANT SNOW!

 

[D'Snowth]

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